In 2024, I showed Oscar from Denver, Colorado the highlights of London. It was his first time in England. In contrast, Thanh and I have been to the capital of the United Kingdom many times. During the weekend of Pentecost 2026, we went together for a weekend of museums, food, and a concert.

A conversation during my recent trip to London started with a simple observation.

At Lasdun, the restaurant inside the National Theatre, side dishes had to be ordered separately. A service charge was added automatically to the bill. Nearby, one of the terraces of the National Theatre bears the name ‘Bank of America Terrace‘. Later, at V&A East Storehouse, I noticed galleries and halls named after sponsors and donors, including the Weston Collections Hall. Even afternoon tea at Oblix came with an additional service charge added at the end of the bill.

My immediate reaction was that London felt increasingly American. My friend and travelling companion Thanh disagreed. None of this, he argued, was particularly new. So who was right? As it turns out, both of us were.

The feeling of Americanisation

Visitors from continental Europe often associate several practices with the United States:

• donor names on buildings and galleries;
• corporate sponsorship of cultural institutions;
• restaurant menus where side dishes are ordered separately;
• automatic service charges;
• payment terminals prompting for tips.

When these experiences occur repeatedly during a single visit, it is easy to conclude that London is becoming more American.

In some respects, that conclusion is understandable. Yet it is also worth asking whether these are genuinely new developments.

“This isn’t new”

When I raised the subject with my friend Jonathan, his response was immediate. “Your friend is not wrong”, he said. “This is not new. It’s something I’ve noticed over the past ten years.” That distinction is important.

Many visitors compare London today with the city they remember from previous visits. If those visits took place fifteen or twenty years ago, the differences can feel striking. However, Londoners themselves have often watched these changes unfold gradually.

The automatic service charge, for example, has become so common in London restaurants that many residents barely notice it anymore. Travel guides now routinely describe a discretionary service charge of around 12.5% as standard practice in the capital. Visitors are generally advised to check whether a service charge has already been included before leaving any additional tip.

The same applies to restaurant menus. Ordering vegetables, chips or salads separately from a main course is now common across much of London’s dining scene. While many Europeans associate the practice with American steakhouses, it has also become widespread in contemporary international dining.

The rise of donor names

The examples that stood out most to me were not restaurants but cultural institutions.

The National Theatre, originally conceived as a publicly funded national institution, now features the Bank of America Terrace. At V&A East Storehouse, one of the central public spaces is named the Weston Collections Hall. The hall is prominently identified throughout the visitor experience.

Jonathan immediately linked this to a broader trend. “Not enough money from the usual channels,” he remarked. “So they are adopting this US fundraising approach.”

Historically, British museums, theatres and galleries relied heavily on public funding, charitable trusts and lottery grants. American institutions, by contrast, have long depended on philanthropy, corporate sponsorship and wealthy benefactors. The result is familiar to anyone who has visited a major museum in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles: galleries, wings and exhibition spaces named after donors.

Britain has always had philanthropists, of course. The difference is visibility. Where previous generations might have encountered a discreet plaque acknowledging a benefactor, today’s visitors are more likely to walk through spaces carrying the donor’s name.

The Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse is a good example of this shift.

The service charge debate

Of all the developments often described as ‘Americanisation’, service charges generate perhaps the strongest reactions.

London’s restaurant scene has largely settled on an automatic service charge of around 12.5%, with some establishments now charging 15%. Importantly, these charges remain discretionary and can generally be removed if requested.

This differs significantly from the United States, where restaurant staff often depend on tips as a substantial part of their income. Nevertheless, many people perceive London’s service charges as an imported American practice.

Online discussions reveal that this debate is far from settled. Some contributors argue that London has adopted “the worst aspects” of American tipping culture, while others point out that service charges have been common in the capital for many years and are fundamentally different from the American system.

One London diner on Reddit summarised the prevailing view succinctly: if a 12.5% service charge is already included, most people do not leave an additional tip. In other words, London has not become New York. But it has developed a hybrid system that many visitors find unfamiliar.

London versus the rest of Britain

Another factor is that London is not necessarily representative of the United Kingdom as a whole.

Several online discussions note that automatic service charges are particularly associated with London and major international tourist destinations. Outside the capital, practices can vary considerably.

This reflects London’s status as a global city. Its restaurants, cultural institutions and commercial districts compete internationally for visitors, investors and sponsorship. As a result, trends that first appear in New York, Singapore, or Hong Kong often arrive in London long before they reach the rest of Great Britain.

So is London becoming American? The answer depends on the timeframe.

If the comparison is between London in 2026 and London in 2020, probably not. Most of the examples that caught my attention were already established several years ago.

If the comparison is between London today and London in the 1990s, the answer is more complicated. Corporate sponsorship is more visible. Donor names are more prominent. Service charges are more common. Restaurants increasingly separate side dishes from main courses. Cultural institutions rely more heavily on private philanthropy.

Many of these developments resemble practices long associated with the United States.

Yet describing the process simply as ‘Americanisation’ may be too simplistic. What is happening is also a consequence of globalisation, financial pressures and London’s role as one of the world’s leading international cities.

Perhaps Jonathan put it best when he predicted that these trends would continue. “It’s going to become more and more the case in London”, he said.

Whether that represents Americanisation or simply the evolution of a global metropolis remains open to debate. But for visitors returning after a long absence, the change can certainly be noticeable.

Pentecost weekend in London 2026

1. EUROSTAR | From Brussels to London in Eurostar Plus (2026).
2. LONDON | Coal Drops Yard at King’s Cross Central.
3. LONDON | Queer Britain or the British National LGBTQ+ Museum.
4. INTERMEZZO | Eurostar to launch direct, no-train-changing London to Antwerp services from December 2026.
5. LONDON | Regent’s Park and Queen Elizabeth II Garden.
6. LONDON | Boys! Boys! Boys! Gallery Café.
7. LONDON | Thames Path – Lambeth Palace – National Covid Memorial Wall – Westminster Bridge – Palace of Westminster – The Queens Walk – Southbank Skatepark – National Theatre – Lasdun Restaurant – Tate Modern – Millennium Bridge – Shakespeare’s Globe.
8. REVIEW | Park Plaza London Riverbank ft the secret recipe of Coca-Cola.
9. CITY OF LONDON | Leadenhall Market – The Garden at 120.
10. LONDON | V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
11. REVIEW | Afternoon tea at Oblix, The Shard, London.
12. CITY OF LONDON | Bank Junction – Guildhall – Roman Wall – Barbican.
13. LONDON | Battersea Power Station – Battersea Park – Albert Bridge.
14. LONDON | Chelsea – Ottolenghi – Hyde Park – Kensington Gardens.
15. ENGLAND | Roaming London by bus instead of by tube.